SearchIgnite makes agreements with two Japanese agencies

SearchIgnite, a search- and auction-based media technology provider, has struck multiyear agreements with CyberAgent and Septeni, two Japanese search and digital marketing advertising agencies.

CyberAgent and Septeni were looking to improve the performance of their existing accounts and to gain a competitive edge against other agencies, said Roger Barnette, founder and president of SearchIgnite, which is based in Atlanta, GA.

At the end of a worldwide search, CyberAgent and Septeni, which are the two largest search marketing agencies in Japan, chose SearchIgnite, according to Barnette. “They felt we had the best technology, the most features and the best optimization features,” he said.

SearchIgnite also committed to localizing the product in the Japanese market, he added. The company just opened its first international office in Tokyo.

With a presence now established in Japan, SearchIgnite has plans to open more locations in Asia as well as Europe throughout 2008, Barnette said. “We see a lot of international demand from clients in foreign markets as well as domestic direct clients and agencies that want to use a single platform that works internationally,” he said.

Combined, CyberAgent and Septeni have 2,000 customers and spend 25 billion yen ($250 million US) in annual paid search marketing, according to SearchIgnite. Total search spend in Japan is estimated at $1.2 billion USD, the company said.

“With SearchIgnite's technology, we are able to centralize our customer reporting and can also transparently optimize all of our search marketing with portfolio algorithms and other optimization techniques — something not possible with any other technology offering in the Japanese market,” Yasuo Okamoto, president of Internet advertising headquarters for CyberAgent, said in a statement.